Seulgi is happy. Yes, life is not always good to her, finances can be a problem but all she needs is Taeoh on her side. When she is down, stress because of life pilling on her shoulders, he is there with his innocent smile and somehow the burdens are lifted up.

He is her treasure, her precious son and she wouldn’t trade him for anything in this world.

“I’m back.” Seulgi pushes the coffee shop’s door, sleepy Taeoh on her arms and rushes back to the kitchen.

“Oh you’re back already?” Song Qian, her boss, takes Taeoh from her arms, giving her a time to put on her apron. “You should have gone home, Seulgi-yah.”

She smiles at Song Qian, patting Taeoh’s back who is sleeping soundly on Song Qian’s shoulder. “I can’t let you manage all this coffee shop alone. And I know you need me since Jinri couldn’t make it today.”

Song Qian gives her a sheepish smile. As much as she wants to dismiss Seulgi, she knows that things would get out of her hand without Seulgi’s help.

“Thanks, Seulgi-yah.” She says, and brings Taeoh to her office to let him sleeps for a while.

Seulgi ties her hair up, putting it into a bun and pats her apron, “Let’s go, Seulgi-yah! Fighting!”

The coffee might be not too crowded for the afternoon, but she needs to prepare for the evening since there are a lot of people, some employees from the building around here, come to the coffee shop after working hours just to wind down the stress and hang around with their friends.

It is late when Seulgi finally finishes her work, she is helping Song Qian to do the closing when the older girl practically shooing her.

“Just go home, Seulgi-yah. I feel bad for Taeoh, he must have been so tired.”

Seulgi nods, she never able to beat Song Qian in debate anyway and her husband is helping them to close the shop anyway. Taeoh is still sleeping soundly on the couch in Song Qian’s office when she found him, curling into a ball and she picks him up into her arms, he whines on his sleep, probably feeling disturbed.

In the times like this she feels bad for Taeoh. He deserves to have a better life, better future, and somehow she regrets her decision to raise up Taeoh herself. Maybe he would have a better life if she had given him up for adoption 3 years ago. She bites back a sob on , forcefully blinking her tears away. It would be awkward if someone sees a young girl crying on a bus with a toddler in her arms.

Taeoh wakes up, blinking his big eyes slowly before bringing his chubby arm to her face. “Umma, don’t cry.”

Seulgi refuses to cry in front of her son, forcing herself to smile. “What? Umma don’t cry, Taeoh-ya.” Her voice is breaking, even she hears herself sounds so pitiful.

“Umma don’t cry. You look ugly when you cry.” He pouts and Seulgi finds herself smiling despite of the tears threatening to fall.

“See, Umma are not crying.” Seulgi pats her cheeks dry. Taeoh giggles, circling his chubby arms at her neck.

“Umma is pretty.”

Seulgi, despite of hard circumstances around her, vows never to let herself thinking about giving Taeoh for adoption anymore. He might have a better life but she can’t imagine living without her son.

He is the sole reason why she still lives in the world today.

---

Jongin is working on his computer when he hears his brother and mother are at each other’s throat again. Same old problem, he sighs. His mother blames his sister in law, Joohyun for not being able to have a child despite being married for five years and her brother protects his wife from his mother. And it results to the same old cycle, huge fight at home.

Jongin massages his temple tiredly. He has been contemplating of moving out from the house but he feels bad for Junmyeon and Joohyun who are unable to leave the house because Junmyeon is the heir of the Kim’s family, and only him who can help to calm down their mother. God knows what his mother would do to Joohyun noona if he isn’t there to stop her. Too many nights he has seen Junmyeon and Joohyun cry on each other’s embrace because of the hurtful things that their mother has sprout to Joohyun.

After few long minutes, the fight is finally over. He could hear Junmyeon’s furious steps on the corridor before he shuts his bedroom door loudly. And now, it’s his part to try to talk to their mother, he sighs, bracing himself to see the worst. He quietly leaves his room to the kitchen, where he finds her mother is drinking alone. Few bottles of soju are everywhere and he could spot the remaining pieces of a bott